George C.’s Event Journal

How was your experience?

ClearI hated itI didn't like itIt was OKI liked itI loved it!

I thought it was a fun afternoon, although my date was less impressed (maybe since we had just seen "Small Engine Repair" last week (hint, hint). The acting varied from ok to great (and somewhat proportional to age) with Shelly Kurtz showing a lot of professional zing and the two youngsters being only adequate (mostly due to a complete lack of vocal projection). They seemed to think that mummering to each other at a realistic level of volume would somehow allow them to be heard by the audience. Nope! I was in the front row and had to guess what they were talking about.
Nancy Berggren was quite believable and I enjoyed her performance very much. Ditto for Jeison Azali as "Mortimer." Timothy George was ok in his role, but seemed to struggle a bit with his character.
Shane Adler, as "Noelle", was an enigma. Like a ballplayer who plays his (or her) best away from the ball, her use of body language (and her body for that matter) were awesomely showcased. Some of her lines, especially early on, were not very convincingly delivered, but I am willing to believe that was to highlight the evolution of her character as the play developed.
The biggest issue for me (and my date) was that the play was somewhat "preachy" (about environmental protection) and significantly silly (about whatever that witch thing was supposed to be). Not much there to grab onto, especially when complicated by the nonsense gimmic of having the main characters switch ages at random places having nothing to do with chronological time. Ok, so it was interesting the first time, but after that one began to ask, "What does this add to the story?"
As usual the Ruskin Theatre was wonderful -- comfortable seats, ample parking right outside, and here at the beach. It's a favorite.